Ukraine Installs High-Tech Security System To Preserve Banksy Paintings

The government of Ukraine has installed special “impact resistant” glass over several Banksy paintings that first started appearing on buildings in the country in the fall of 2022. The paintings, which have already been vandalized in some places, will also get wireless security camera protection that alerts authorities when someone is trying to alter or steal the paintings, according to a new report from the Washington Post.

The paintings started popping up late last year and were seen as a commentary on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which started exactly a year ago this coming Friday. Banksy is a semi-anonymous street artist from the UK whose artwork has sold for millions around the world, with his most expensive piece fetching over $25 million. And it’s that high price tag that makes Banksy’s art a target for thieves.

The security system was installed by Europe’s Ajax Systems, according to a machine-translated announcement by the local government in Kyiv.

Oleg Torkunov, a government official in the region, said Banksy’s art in the country was, “a reminder that light must overcome darkness.”

“Now it is important to counter possible attempts at vandalism, which we have already seen recently. And we are grateful to our partners, security engineers, who were able to find the most successful solution in difficult conditions and implement it,” Torkunov said.

The security company has even completely enclosed the work above, installing a “life quality” sensor to measure temperature and humidity. Below, you can see the work that was done to protect the art.

“To deploy such a protection system, 21 sensors and five central security systems were needed. Sensors are independent of constant power supply, and the main unit can be located in a remote room: the hub keeps in touch with the sensors at a distance of up to 1,700 meters and notifies the security company about the alarm in less than 0.15 seconds,” according to the government’s announcement, published online.

Banksy’s art works in Borodyanka, Irpen and Gorenka have all had some version of Ajax’s security system installed, though it’s not immediately clear how long the protections may be in place, nor how much this protection is costing the local government.